by Kimberly Roberts
Special to the NNPA from The Philadelphia Tribune

Versatile entertainer Wayne Brady, winner of both Daytime and Primetime Emmy Awards, will be among the celebrated guest judges when “So You Think You Can Dance,” (SYTYCD) returns to Fox for its tenth season with a two-part premiere airing at 8 p.m., Tuesday, May 14 and at 9 p.m., Wednesday, May 15.

Other guests joining resident judges Nigel Lythgoe and Mary Murphy at auditions in Austin, Boston, Detroit, Memphis and Los Angeles will be Minnie Driver, Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Adam Shankman, as well as “SYTYCD” “All-Star” Stephen “tWitch” Boss, whose career has enjoyed a metoric rise since he competed and placed second in the fourth season of the Emmy-nominated dance competition.

Hosted by Cat Deeley, this search for “America’s Favorite Dancer” (not “best,” but “favorite”) showcases a potpourri of gifted dancers skilled in a variety of dance styles, including krumping, jazz, ballet, tap, hip hop and contemporary – each competing for a prized spot on the live shows in Los Angeles.

As the nationwide auditions begin, each two-hour show will feature breathtaking performances as well as suspenseful eliminations as the aspiring artists dance their way to a chance at the $250,000.00 grand prize. In recent years, several of the stand-out contestants on “STTYCD,” including Lacey Schwimmer, Chelsie Hightower and Dmitry Chaplin have been recruited to join the professional roster of another wildly popular dance competition, ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars.”

by Zenitha Prince
Special to the NNPA from the Afro-American Newspaper

Sony BMG Music Entertainment has settled a lawsuit filed in 2005 by attorney James J. Walker of Walker and Associates, a Black-owned, Atlanta-based law firm that represents gospel artists. After almost a decade of litigation, the settlement is a major win in the battle for the rights of urban artists, the attorney said.

Walker said the settlement was concluded in early May, the day before the trial was supposed to start. He said the case has been “life-changing.” He said he has gotten feedback from all over the world in the David v. Goliath scenario—a billion-dollar company against a small, Black-owned firm.

“We felt strongly all along that this was a case we had to fight in order to protect artists and their right to choose effective legal representation and other forms of representation, including the best manager, attorney, publicist, accountant in protecting themselves as artists,” said company spokesman Kenny Walker.

Filed in 2005 in federal court in Connecticut, the lawsuit alleged that Verity Records, now called RCA Inspirational, and its president, Max Siegel, along with Verity parent company, Zomba Enterprises, and Provident Distribution “set out to deprive gospel artists of effective representation in their contract negotiations” to hack down their compensation from the use of their copyrights and intellectual property. Walker said company representatives coerced his clients into firing him and defamed his character, robbing him of income. Zomba Enterprises is now owned by Sony.

When contacted by the AFRO, Elizabeth Young, the spokeswoman for Sony Music Entertainment, said the company had no comment.

Walker said the case shines a light on the persistent exploitation of Black artists within the music industry.

“It’s endemic to urban music, in general,” he said. “There’s an undercurrent that ‘These are Black folks; they’re not that smart.’ There’s a racial undertone that no one wants to talk about…. You walk into the labels and everyone’s White and all the artists are Black.”

Industry observers agree that Walker is one of a few lawyers who successfully represent gospel’s leading artists. From 1999-2002, for example, Walker said he secured top-dollar royalty payments for nearly two dozen artists on the popular “WOW” albums. The series, launched in 1998, became a vehicle for lesser-known artists to gain exposure, revolutionizing the music genre.

Sony representatives, according to the lawsuit, employed “trickery and deceit” to convince those gospel artists—including high-profile clients like Grammy winners Hezekiah Walker, Donald Lawrence and Twinkie Clark and legendary songwriters like David Frazier and V. Michael McKay—to terminate Walker. The ploys included threats that they would not be included in future projects if they brought the assertive attorney to the negotiating table, according to the lawsuit.

Some of those artists folded, according to news reports.

“When I filed the lawsuit, five out of 10 people didn’t agree with my decision,” Walker said. “Now that the settlement has been announced, 12 out of 10 are saying, ‘Great job…I wish I would have stayed with you because I’ve been screwed… I need your help.’”

Frazier admitted that he left Walker after he tangled with the music corporation.
“James had gotten me great payments because he was aggressive,” Frazier, who wrote the 2004 gospel hit “I Need You to Survive,” told the Los Angeles Times in 2005. “But my first goal is the ministry of Christ. And as my mama said, ‘If you aren’t heard, you aren’t doing God’s work.’ So I found a new lawyer.”

Walker said when he lost about 20 existing and potential clients, he filed the suit.
While some in the gospel music industry supported Walker’s activism, others disdained the litigation as an affront to the spiritual mission of their music.

“The Bible speaks of Christians not suing one another,” Rev. Robert Lowe of Mount Moriah AME Church in New York and chairman of the Gospel Artists Progressive Movement told the LA Times. “This is Jesus’ music and it is governed by the rules of God. Our artists have not gotten our fair share, but the Bible prefers things are decided at a table rather than in the courtroom.”

In 2005, Walker predicted that despite the censure from gospel industry insiders, he would prevail and, when he did, his critics would come onboard.

“Pastors and Christian folk have this tendency to think you’re not supposed to litigate; you’re supposed to pray, scream the name of Jesus, talk in tongues and hope Jesus works it out. But there comes a time when you have to pray that God gives you the wisdom and resources to work it out [yourself],” Walker said.

by Mea Ashley
Special to the NNPA from The Washington Informer

Korey Wise sits smirking through a one-man play, saying “hmph!” and “ummm” now and then. Youth groups, activists, and college students have packed the auditorium at the National Black Theatre in Harlem. Wise will join a panel after the play on wrongful imprisonment, a subject he knows too well.

In 1989, Wise and four other young black and Latino teenagers were convicted of raping and beating a white investment banker in Central Park, leaving her for dead. The media called her the Central Park Jogger and the accused the Central Park Five. No evidence linked them to the crime except for their confessions, which came after relentless hours of police interrogation. They recanted shortly afterwards, but those statements were still enough to send them all to jail. Wise was 16 and was sentenced to 5 to 15 years as an adult.

Last year, a decade after an inmate named Reyes Matias confessed to the crime, resulting in all five of the boys’ exoneration, Sarah Burns, Ken Burns, and David McMahon released a documentary about their story, “The Central Park Five”. Wise, who went free after 13 years, is now suing the city for wrongful imprisonment.

During the panel, a young man in the audience tells about being imprisoned at Rikers Island at 16. Wise can relate. He sits straightforward, hands clasped, no emotion on his face, almost dazed.

“Wow,” is Wise’s unspoken reaction.

Later, in his Bronx apartment, he compared Rikers Island to another local landmark.

“The Bronx Zoo is dealing with all types of elements,” he says.

Yet he sees Rikers Island as where rebirth happens, because inmates’ natural instinct and appetite for survival kick in. “There’s no mommy, no daddy,” he says. “Just you.”

Wise’s instincts did kick in one day on Riker’s Island after an altercation with a fellow inmate, Reyes Matias. “Destiny made it his business to come see me,” Wise tells the audience, explaining how the true rapist of the Central Park Jogger confronted him over control of a television.

Thirteen years later, almost five hours away at Auburn Correctional Facility, Wise and Matias met again on the yard where about 10,000 inmates congregated. Matias approached Wise and established that he too had transferred from Rikers Island. When inmates travel from prison to prison, it’s hard to meet new people, so they tend to stick with familiar faces. Matias broke the ice by apologizing for the fight; Wise accepted.

“I see you’re still maintaining your innocence,” Matias said.

“I guess so, yeah,” Wise said.

“Are you religious?”

“Nah, I’m not religious. Why, what’s up?”

“Well, you know, I just became religious.”

“Well, all praises be to the most high for you then.”

The next day in the chapel, Wise got a call from his mom. Inmates summoned to the chapel usually expect to hear about a death in the family, but not Wise.

“I don’t know who you talked to, but whoever you talked to, he freed you,” his mother said.

The white walls and concrete floors in Wise’s Bronx apartment living room are as bare as a prison cell’s. The wind from the open window competes with an accordion heater right beneath the sill. Wise often repeats phrases three to four times before completing a poignant thought. He stands up from the wood framed chair.

Wise takes off his green long-sleeved shirt, points to the scar on his wrist.

“I’m not a 5.”

He lifts his undershirt to show a cut on his abdomen.

“I’m not a 5.”

He pulls his pants down halfway exposing a permanent purple bruise on his upper thigh.

“I’m not a 5,” Wise says, meaning, the Central Park 5.

Wise insists that he’s an individual, more than a part of the group. Out of the five convicted, he was the only one tried and sentenced as an adult because he was 16.

“He spent twice as much time in prison and was in an adult maximum-security facility,” says his lawyer, Jane Byrialsen, with whom he has a developed familial relationship.

“The damage that he sustained from that experience is incomparable,” says Byrialsen, who adds that Wise can be a loner sometimes.

Documentarian Sarah Burns echoes Byrialsen’s sentiments. “The juvenile facilities were no walk in the park but they were not the same thing as where Korey served all of that time,” she says.

Wise has been struggling with maintaining his individuality since this nightmare began years ago. Burns says the media contributed.

“I think part of the problem with that initial coverage in 1989 was that it lumped them all together like they were this wolf pack as the newspaper said,” Burns says.

By the time Matias confessed to the crime in 2002, Wise was 30 and the other four young men had returned home; they only served seven years. “If I had went to Spofford with them it would be none of this. Reyes would still be playing stickball,” he says, meaning Matias would’ve never confessed had they not run into each other.

He still sees his social worker almost once a week but he doesn’t feel the need for a therapist, Byrialsen says. Wise doesn’t work now; he receives a disability check for being partially deaf in his right ear and having post-traumatic stress. He also gets Supplemental Security Income, a program that pays disabled adults who have limited income and resources.

He spends most of his time hanging around his old neighborhood and speaking on behalf of the Innocence Project at events.

He hardly goes anywhere without his Ipod and headphones. Sometimes when Wise is riding on the train he’ll see a poster for the documentary. “I just feel a pain, it hits me,” he says. “That’s why I try to keep my hip hop in my ears.”

But if you ever saw Wise on the streets of Harlem, he would meet you with a big grin and say something like, “I’m good, you know why?” then add, “Cause I’m hip-hop! Hip-hop is me!”

Over the years his lawyer noticed that music helps Wise escapes his pain. “He still listens to 80′s music from when he went in,” says Byrialsen. “It’s like he’s still stuck. It’s like he’s still sort of that 16-year-old kid in a way.”

She hopes that he will soon be able to move on with his life and not be continuously reminded of the past, but her hopes and reality seem farther away than she and Wise would both like.

Wise is suing the city for $50 million in damages for being wrongfully convicted, a case he filed 10 years ago; it could be a year before he sees any closure. Being unemployed has given him time to sit in the courtroom for about 40 depositions. His lawyers and the defense will have to go through 50 more before this summer. During these depositions Wise witnesses the city’s law department present evidence against his case as if they doubt Reyes’ confession should’ve exonerated him. Watching all of these legal arguments doesn’t do much for Wise’s healing, Byrialsen says.

“I think that it’s very hurtful. I think he suffers every day,” she says.

The city’s law department responded with an emailed statement.

“As we’ve said before, the City stands by the decisions made by the detectives and prosecutors,” said Celeste Koeleveld, the executive assistant corporation counsel for public safety.

The confessions, hearings, and trials all presented “abundant probable cause” for the plaintiff’s, conviction, she said.

“Nothing unearthed since the trials, including Matias Reyes’s connection to the attack on the jogger — changes that fact. . . .Under the circumstances, the City is proceeding with a vigorous defense of the detectives and prosecutors,” said Koeleveld.

Byrialsen says the longer this case remains un-settled, the more Wise’s closure is delayed. “The thought that you’ve been exonerated, and you’ve been out all these years and people still think you did it. I don’t think you can ever escape that,” she says.

Since the documentary has aired on national television on PBS, Wise is hoping it would create some type of change in the case. “The city is getting quite fed up with it so I’m hoping for a positive out of it.”

Wise says sharing his story is very therapeutic. Just recently, on the anniversary of the crime, he went to Charlotte, North Carolina for an Innocence Project conference.

In 2002, after being released, Wise changed his first name from Kharey to Korey. Byrialsen says he no longer wants to be associated with all the negative documents that carry his old name. Someone who doesn’t know Korey personally wouldn’t know the hurt he internalizes because over the years, since he’s been released, he has acquired a peaceful persona. But once he starts to unravel, the pain from this experience is exposed like an open wound.

Wise thinks highly of Burns for creating the documentary and giving him the opportunity to share his story. “The doc is beautiful. It hurts to the core,” he says.

Now that the documentary has gained national attention, Wise is happy that the truth is finally out. After it aired on television he got a lot of feedback on Facebook about his strength for taking the punishment for a crime he didn’t commit. He’s also glad that people now recognize the connection between his incarceration and the group’s freedom; a fact he says many people leave out when telling the story. “They give a perspective as if we were together when Reyes woke up at 4 o’clock in the morning in a cold sweat and said ‘let me get this out the way,” he said in a phone conversation.

Even though he feels that others don’t always tell his story correctly, he still is glad that he can continue to speak out against injustice. Almost weekly, he appears through The Innocence Project on panel discussions, rallies, and screenings of the documentary.

Just as he left his old name behind, he speaks about his past self as if he is two different people.

“I love to see little Korey do his thing, cause he done died,” he says meaning prison almost killed his youthful spirit, “and came alive, like, 13 times in 13 years,” he says.

“Little Korey was just looking to have his life. Not have his life torn away from him,” Wise says.

“So when I look at him — as his new representative, his lawyer — I have to give the audience his life, because he’s no longer here to tell it.”

Candice Glover was crowned the new “American Idol” on Thursday after defeating country singer Kree Harrison.

The 23-year-old R&B vocalist from St. Helena Island, S.C., looked stunned when “Idol” host Ryan Seacrest announced she was victorious over 22-year-old country singer Harrison from Woodville, Texas.

Glover performed the new single “I Am Beautiful” after winning the 12th edition of the Fox singing competition. Glover auditioned for the show three times before making it as a finalist this season.

Thursday’s finale also served as a farewell for Randy Jackson. The show’s lone remaining original judge announced last week that he’s leaving “Idol” to focus on his record label and other business opportunities.

Glover, as well as St. Louis native top-ten finalist Curtis Finch Jr., will be in St. Louis next month when the “American Idol Live Tour” stops at the Chaifetz Arena.

by James Washington
Special to the NNPA from The Dallas Weekly

There have been countless volumes of space and dialogue devoted to Jesus’ blood contract with us that many suggest freed us from the bondage of original sin. “…and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the first born from the dead and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by His blood…” Revelation 1:5. My question to you then is how do you master sin? How do you control your sin as opposed to having your sin control you? Is this even possible? Is sin for you not sin for me? Some would have you believe sin is a behavior that politicians and governments laid down as moral laws to keep humanity in check, preserve order and maintain control over the masses. They point to different cultures and customs that are acceptable to one nation and gut wrenchingly wrong to another. My point is there are sins of all kinds and as Christians they take on one of two dimensions, i.e. sins of the flesh and sins of the spirit. But isn’t there a universal acceptance of what is moral and what is immoral? But for the Christian, isn’t morality a barometer for sin? Aren’t there rules about sin that are etched in stone and never change?

It really shouldn’t be complicated at all. It seems that living morally, righteously, living in between the lines rather than outside of them, is a struggle matched only by trying to understand the true meaning of life. Now I know this is not easy. But the question is, is it worth it to try and master your sins or, more poignantly, your sinful nature? I don’t know about you but trying to live without sin is a recognized and acknowledged impossibility. The beauty here is we know God is a God of another chance. It appears that the key is attitude, yours not God’s. That attitude will eventually dictate the outcome. If your attitude is God centered, if it is founded in humility and vulnerability in relation to God, if remorse is real, then mercy will be forthcoming. With the right attitude then, sin can be mastered, if not controlled. Confess. That’s right! Confess them to God. You see confession to God is not like any other confession I can think of. That’s because you can’t lie to God because the truth in this instance can’t hide. “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all righteousness.” 1 John 1:8-9.

If we can really get this, the reward then is eternal life and peace. It requires faith, which requires belief, which requires a daily resolve to choose against sin in favor of the Lord. Now if you believe this life is all there is, then I might understand deliberate sinful pursuits. If you believe in more, then sinful mistakes are just that; mistakes made not ever with God in mind. “But if anyone does sin, we have one who speaks to the father in our defense-Jesus Christ.” 1 John 2:1. Given this fact, it’s not so hard to imagine the eternal outcome. Just remember, some rules are indeed etched in stone.

May God bless and keep you forever.

James

by Rebecca Nuttall
Special to the NNPA from the New Pittsburgh Courier

by David T. Baker
Special to the NNPA from The Louisiana Weekly

Boy meets girl. Boy likes girl, now boy has to meet the family. It’s an age-old story and the plot of the latest Tyler Perry-produced film Peeples. Peeples is a romantic comedy about Wade Walker (played by comedian and actor Craig Robinson) and his pursuit of love interest Grace Peeples (played by Kerry Washington). In the film, Wade’s love for Grace is so strong that he crashes her family’s annual Sag Harbor reunion in order to ask her father Virgil Peeples (played by David Allen Grier) for Grace’s hand in marriage. And that’s when all the trouble begins.

The Louisiana Weekly sat down with comedian and actor Craig Robinson to discuss his career in acting, comedy and his role in upcoming film Peeples.

LW: You were a teacher before you became an actor. How did your career as an actor and comedian begin?

CR: In college …I knew I was going to go into comedy for sure. Stand up. Comedy chose me. It overtook my life. I was always joking around. Always. People would come back and tell me my bits that I didn’t even know were called bits back then but they were like ‘Oh I was trying to tell somebody how you were saying this…’

That was special to me. Then at one point I realized people could make a living doing that. I saw two guys perform at a talent show or something and they did comedy and I was like ‘Whoa’ because comedians always seemed like superheroes to me or something. You couldn’t touch them. And here’s somebody I could actually touch that’s doing this. And it was like ‘How do you do that?’ It was one of the first things I got serious about. And from comedy, once I started getting into that it was almost a natural progression to take some acting classes. For me it felt like it would be smart to. If I ever got a chance to, you know, be on a sitcom or do a line or two here, it’d be smart to know what I’m doing. So uh, I started taking acting classes and the rest is history.

LW: You have a well-established career in comedy. Is there room in your career for other types of roles?

CR: Absolutely. I’m open to dramas and action and whatever else. And I’m open to doing some music stuff. There’s definitely room.

LW: What has been your favorite role to play?

CR: I just did a movie. There’s a movie coming out called ‘Rapturepalooza’ where I play the antichrist and that was just so much fun to play just because he could get away with anything. He had security team around him all the time and just said whatever came to his mind; he was inappropriate – he thought it was charming – it was just such a clash of everything.

LW: Where do you pull your inspiration from when you’re playing these characters?

CR: From being on the road all those years and doing comedy; there’s definitely some inspiration in that. I’m a huge fan of Richard Pryor and Sam Kinison and all these people who just make you laugh. Kevin Klein is an inspiration of mine; he’s one of my favorite actors. It comes from different places but mostly just I try to focus on the moment…in case I improve something…and that’s one of the nicer things. Like you improve something, come up with it and it comes back to you via somebody quoting you on Twitter or somebody saying whatever line: ‘Ole pregnant bitches!’ You know…that’s always fun to be like “Ok, I thought of that and here it is.

LW: Your character Darryl Philbin on “The Office,” how closely does that mirror your actual life –t he person that he is, the very reserved yet very wise?

CR: People say I’m reserved. I don’t know how wise they think I am. Some people say I’m cool. I guess that if anything, that would be part of it. But Darryl’s a lot meaner than Craig and he breaks down in interviews, you’ll notice. I don’t think Craig does that. I might’ve done it once. I think I had a breakdown (he says with a chuckle). For an audition — it was all but promised to me then I just blew it because I just wanted it too much. But I don’t think they’re that similar. I don’t have a kid. Darryl has a kid. Darryl is always trying to impress people. Craig doesn’t care all that much. Well Darryl, not impress but he’s always…I don’t know. I don’t think they’re that similar.

LW: As that show [The Office] comes to a close, I believe it’s in its last season now, where are you looking to transition after that? Do you want another TV series role or do you want to only do movies?

CR: I just shot a pilot for NBC. It’s called ‘Mr. Robinson.’ I’m in a bubble of hope, hope that they pick it up. And if they do we’ll know in a couple of weeks. And if they do, that’s where I’ll be on TV for a little while longer, and if they don’t we’ll have to figure it out. I’ve got some movies coming out…[I’ll] go work on Hot Tub Time Machine part 2. And then we’ll really have to do some soul searching.

LW: You have a new movie coming out called Peeples. Can you tell us a little bit about that?

CR: Peeples is a comedy, a family-oriented comedy, produced by Tyler Perry, written and directed by Tina Gordon Chism. She wrote ATL and she wrote Drumline. And this is her first directing gig. It’s about a guy—Wade Walker—I play him. He’s in love with his girl and she’s in love with him—Gloria Peeples played by Kerry Washington. Only thing is, she doesn’t want him to meet the family because she’s just not ready for him to meet her family because basically he’s not good enough – or nobody is good enough to get past her father. So she kind of wants to keep it going with Wade but it’s just not the time yet. The father is played by David Allen Grier. So Wade decides, because Gloria goes on a weekend with her family to Sag Harbor, Wade decides ‘Ya know what, I’m going to go down there and I’m going to surprise her, and I’m going to propose, and the family is going to love me.’ And of course it doesn’t go exactly as planned.

LW: What was it like working alongside David Allen Grier who is well-known for his comedy also?

CR: He’s the funniest dude on the planet. He’s the father of the set. We had a ball, a blast every day. We were all singing on the set, and David was just as brilliant as you know him to be. And once you meet him, you’re going to love him even more.

LW: And what about Kerry Washington [in a comedic role]?

CR: It was a first for many of us. Tina’s first directing, my first leading man, Kerry’s first kind of comedy thing showing her comedy chops and she’s a natural. She did her thing, and she’s just brilliant. She’ll make you laugh anyway so it wasn’t a stretch for her to get you to laugh on the page.

LW: Who has been your greatest inspiration in the acting?

CR: Definitely Richard Pryor. Matter of fact, there’s a part in this movie that I kind of did an ode to Richard Pryor, tip my hat to him from a scene he did in Which Way is Up? that has stayed with me forever. It was kind of when I was playing the guitar and making this silly face. It was straight up Richard Pryor textbook silliness.

LW: Do you have any advice for emerging actors, directors and writers of color?

CR: Absolutely…not! I don’t know about giving advice but I’ll tell you what, man: Everything you learned in kindergarten: play well with others; respect you and respect others; be yourself. You’re the only you that’s out there so make sure you’re the genuine article, and when you’re presenting yourself they find you.

Tyler Perry presents Peeples premiered in theaters May 10. To view the trailer or find more about the movie, visit www.peeplesmovie.com.

Weeklong hearings on government secrecy, so-called UFOs yield powerful testimony and a simple question: Why hide info about things that don’t exist?

by Richard Muhammad
Special to the NNPA from The Final Call

Citizen Hearing On Disclosure, held at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. April 29 to May 3.

WASHINGTON (National Press Club) – Having the prestigious home for Americas media in the Nation’s Capitol host its conference, complete with former lawmakers, was a clear attempt by the host Paradigm Research Group and conference organizer Stephen Bassett to curb ridicule and keep focus on government secrecy and its belief that so-called UFOs are known—despite government lies and  skeptics.

The Citizen Hearing On Disclosure, held here April 29 to May 3, included a former Canadian defense minister, a former astronaut, the former top Federal Aviation Administration official, a onetime Ministry of Defense official in the United Kingdom, Air Force veterans, other U.S. servicemen, and domestic and foreign pilots, scientists, researchers, authors, writers, filmmakers, and witnesses from America, England, China, Russia, Canada, Brazil, Chile and South American countries spoke.

Modeled after congressional hearings, witnesses delivered 30 hours of testimony covering a wide range of thought and concern about so-called UFOs and whether the crafts were of this world or from elsewhere. Opinions were strong on all ends—some simply wanted an explanation or investigation of things unexplained—others spoke of animal mutilations, alien crash landings and creatures from other planets under U.S. government control.

The point of agreement was the U.S. government and other governments need to share what is known about sightings and crafts and the U.S. Congress should hold hearings on a subject of interest to millions of Americans—whether their concerns are the origin of the crafts or an ever-increasing tendency to classify and deny public access to information.

“I believe, unfortunately, that the military industrial complex is the reason—from Truman and Roosevelt, Reagan, Clinton, and Carter presidential level—that has brought us to this place, which I believe is detrimental to the universe and detrimental to our people,” said former Detroit congresswoman Carolyn Kilpatrick, who was among former lawmakers that conducted the hearings for the Paradigm Research Group.

“There is something else out there, I’m convinced. I wasn’t before I came because I didn’t know much about it. I’ve been reading, listening, scientifically intelligent information has been presented,” said the 18 year-member of Congress in an exclusive interview. Twelve countries were represented in testimony with another 12 nations on board to explore this issue and United States officials need to take part in the conversation, she argued.

“I don’t know what they (U.S. officials) know, it’s over my intelligence but I believe if they know something, and I believe they do, they need to share it,” former Rep. Kilpatrick continued. “I don’t know if it’s about power, or that someone else may have a better technology, or that we’re not going to tell the people because we want to stay in charge—all of which are asinine in the 21st century. It’s time to confront the issue.”

Federal defense and transportation were her areas of expertise but the UFO issue never came up in congressional discussions, she said. Defense spending and appropriations was her specialty.

Five other ex-lawmakers—Sen. Mike Gravel, D-Alaska; U.S. Rep. Lynn Woolsey, D-Calif.; U.S. Rep Darlene Hooley, D-Ore.; U.S. Rep. Roscoe Bartlett, R-Md.; and U.S. Rep. Merrill Cook, R-Utah—agreed the people had a right to know more. Among suggestions was having an international conference tied to the United Nations and endorsed by the General Assembly as opposed to the U.S.-dominated Security Council.

The onetime federal legislators admitted former colleagues were unlikely to have a formal hearing, but encouraged continued efforts to lobby and educate current legislators.

Problems with a congressional hearing range from short presentation times to a few select witnesses, finding the proper committee to host such a hearing and the arrogance of Capitol Hill legislators, said Rep. Hooley candidly.

Congressmen aren’t happy looking like they don’t know something and to be told something world-shaking was going on for decades without their knowledge wouldn’t sit well, she said.

Also no sitting lawmaker wants to be the first representative to call for hearings and see their call replayed in opposition political ads with antenna coming out of their heads, added Ms. Woolsey.

Potential ridicule and political fallout is enough to keep members of Congress away, she said.

Congressman Mike Gravel, in a strong argument, warned against relying on Congress. Congress and the U.S. political system are broken and people are too afraid to challenge authority, said the former senator.

The American people need to be motivated to get involved, he said, complaining of a sheep-like mentality inside the United States where anyone who challenges popular political thought has his patriotism questioned. True patriotism is standing up and demanding that the government serve and inform its citizens, he said.

From Volume 6 Number 2 issue of The Final Call, January 31, 1987.

The last time Congress held a hearing on UFO matters was in 1968 before the House Committee on Science and Astronautics.

Throughout the Press Club hearing, pilots and experts shared experiences with the crafts, some tried to chase or attack the objects without success. In other incidents, witnesses saw strange lights and shared how the appearance of these crafts or lights knocked out weapons systems in nuclear silos. All described virtually noiseless, usually seamless crafts with few or no outer markings, ships that could make sudden stops and turns impossible for modern aircraft. The force of such angled maneuvers would kill a human being, they said. The crafts hover in mid-air at heights no helicopter could endure, witnesses said. Some described how smaller craft travel and dock on a huge Mother Ship.

Panelists shown on Day 2 of the Citizens Hearing on Disclosure.

“It’s indisputable that UFOs exist and it’s indisputable that while most of them turn out to be misidentifications or hoaxes, some of them, even those of us in government couldn’t explain,” said Nick Pope, who spent four years investigating UFOs and possible national security implications for the United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defense. The UK has since moved to declassify and release its UFO documents, he said.

“It’s not in contention that there are things in our air space and we don’t know what they are,” said Mr. Pope. The British government sometimes tracked sightings on radar or visual sightings by pilots, but it was a mystery, and while extraterrestrials weren’t ruled found, they were not ruled out, he said.

Dick Gregory, longtime analyst and satirist, attended the hearings. He felt it should have included representatives of the indigenous peoples who have spoken of such visits for centuries. He had his own experience in San Francisco. He sees major implications if the truth about UFOs come out.

The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan accompanied by his sons Joshua Farrakhan (to his left) and Nation of Islam Student Supreme Captain Mustapha Farrakhan (to his right) sat in for a brief time the first day of the hearing. Photo: Richard B. Muhammad

The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan accompanied by his sons Joshua Farrakhan and Nation of Islam Student Supreme Captain Mustapha Farrakhan and Abdul Akbar Muhammad, international representative of the Nation of Islam, sat in for a brief time the first day of the hearing.

The Minister has spoken publically about his encounter with the crafts in a “vision-like”” experience in 1985 and said the crafts are fulfillment of the prophecy of Ezekiel’s Wheel in the Bible and are the destructive Mother Plane  and baby planes created to destroy this civilization as taught by the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad. The writings about these planes are found in the monumental book Message to the Black Man by Mr. Muhammad.

During an international press conference at the J.W. Marriott Hotel in Washington, D.C. on October 24, 1989, Min. Farrakhan shared his vision and warned the U.S. government of the dreadful power of these crafts and how plotting against the Black man and woman, him and the Nation of Islam would led to the unleashing of their destructive force.

“So it is not wise for you to plan against Allah’s (God’s) servants; for by so doing you are actually planning against yourselves. This warning is for the president, the government and the wise to reflect upon so that the unwary citizens of America may not be harmed by the consequences of the wicked machinations of the United States government,” said Min. Farrakhan at the press conference.

“You may come against me, which you are free to do, since we have no power to stop you, but I warn you, that I am backed by the power of Allah (God) and His Christ and the power of that Wheel in which I received this Announcement. The moment you attempt or lay your hands on me the fullness of Allah’s (God’s) wrath will descend upon you and upon America,” the Minister warned.

What about the 3 percent?

Among UFO researchers, or “ufologists,” there is agreement that 95 percent of reported incidents can be explained, said Gary Heseltine, who created a database tracking UFO-related incidents reported by police officers in the United Kingdom, and edits UFO Truth magazine.

When the remaining 5 percent are investigated, perhaps 2 percent will be tossed out leaving a highly credible 3 percent that is unexplained, argued the retired British police detective.

“The skeptics can argue all they like but they never talk about these 3 percent of cases,” said Mr. Heseltine.

That 3 percent of cases would include major incidents inside and outside the United States. One incident occurred in 1986 as a Japanese airline pilot flying over Anchorage, Alaska spotted a huge ship the size of two aircraft carriers and reported the sighting to the FAA. John Callahan was then division chief of the Accidents and Investigations for the Federal Aviation Administration. He testified May 3 that Japanese Airlines 747 flight was followed by a UFO for 31 minutes. The UFO also followed a United Airlines flight.

The unknown craft’s presence was confirmed visually—as the pilot drew a walnut shaped object to share what he saw—and there was radar confirmation. The then-FAA Administrator held a briefing the day after the incident with the FBI, CIA, President Reagan’s Scientific Study Team and others present, said Mr. Callahan.

During an international press conference at the J.W. Marriott Hotel in Washington, D.C. on October 24, 1989, Min. Farrakhan shared his vision and warned the U.S. government of the dreadful power of these crafts and how plotting against the Black man and woman, him and the Nation of Islam would led to the unleashing of their destructive force.

The air traffic conversations, videotaped radar evidence and reports were presented but confiscated, the former federal official said. The CIA officer said the craft was a UFO and the scientific group couldn’t wait to get it hands on the information, Mr. Callahan recalled. The CIA person also told everyone present they were sworn to secrecy and “this meeting never happened,” said the plain-spoken Mr. Callahan, who was certainly not a New Age ET Come Home cheerleader.

He doubted that the craft was made by the U.S. or any other government, though when he first heard about the incident he suspected it might be a Defense Dept. project like the once super-secret Stealth bomber. Mr. Callahan kept some of the FAA evidence.

George Flier, a retired Air Force intelligence officer, testified that there are about 1,000 UFO-related sightings a month and he deals with 17,000 e-mails related to incidents monthly.

Like many witnesses, Mr. Flier had his own encounter with a UFO while aboard an aircraft tanker over the UK. While serving in the Air Force, Flier was onboard an aircraft tanker over the UK ordered to investigate a UFO which flew away at great speed. He is now a regional director for the Mutual UFO Network.

Reasons most often given for hiding info about UFOs are national security, power, potential unknown energy sources and shaking the established world view of reality and science. One witness suggested while the speed of light is recognized as the highest speed known to mankind, the unknown crafts may travel at the speed of thought and use a different propulsion system than the most advanced system used today.

And, observed Mr. Callahan, where do these crafts stop for food, fuel and what technology do they have? Companies and corporations have an interest in denying the world cheaper, better medical care and a “toaster that can power New York City,” he said.

While the UFO phenomenon is worldwide with sightings in places like Iran, the United Kingdom, Turkey, China, and Japan along with others nations and regions in between, the U.S. has a special interest in these occurrences and special ridicule, the witnesses stressed.

Mr. Bassett complained of misinformation spread by the government and CIA-creation of the National Enquirer. The tabloid spreads silly stories and undermines legitimate dialogue, he said.

In South America, the subject is approached from a more respectful and scientific basis, said Antonio Huneeus, a writer and investigative reporter from Chile. There is some mockery but the societies and governments are generally more willing to discuss the phenomena in a more serious way, he added.

When other nations have an incident, the U.S. quickly intervenes and often departs with valuable evidence and information, said witnesses.

Its global influence as a superpower is the reason most often given for U.S. obsession with the subject, witnesses argued. But, they noted, at the same time the U.S. government insists the craft do not exist.

Would the U.S. be the sole superpower if someone else possessed more advanced technology? asked Nick Pope, a UK Ministry of Defense UFO investigator between 1991 and 1994. In 2008 the UK began a five-year process of declassifying and releasing its entire archives of UFO files. So far over 50,000 pages of documents have been released, he noted.

The most significant UFO incident in the UK happened in 1980 involving a UFO incident in Rendlesham Forest and involved military personnel at the United States Air Force bases of Bentwaters and Woodbridge, he said.

A craft appeared near the bases over 3 nights, soldiers were sent out to investigate and the top U.S. Air Force official in Germany quickly came to find out what happened, collected evidence and left, said Mr. Pope. The Air Force official wrote a memo about the incident, but the U.S. says it has no interest in investigating UFOs, added Mr. Pope, who worked for the Ministry of Defense for 21 years.

Then U.S.-servicemen John Burroughs and Jim Penniston were there that night and testified at the hearing. Not only were the men told to keep quiet about the incident, but both have health problems and have been told their personal medical records are classified. They fear exposure to some kind of radiation.

Between 1953 through 2009, when the division was dropped because of defense cuts, over 12,000 incidents were investigated, said Mr. Pope. The Rendlesham Forest incident multiple witnesses, included burn marks on trees and increased radiation at the event site, he explained. The plight of the servicemen is a open government and human rights issue, whether there is a belief in UFOs or not, these men cannot get information needed to help deal with health problems, said Mr. Pope.

He believes government secrecy, which many say began in 1947, is tied to a desire to capture the technology of these unknown crafts. Whether crafts investigated by the UK were “Russian or Martian,” their technology is better than what is currently known, Mr. Pope said.

There was UK interest in propulsion systems, fuel source and possible weaponization, he continued.

“There is as it were a race for that technology. So basically, if any of this turns out to be true, the nation that first acquires this technology will be the dominant political, military, technological, economic force on this planet for the foreseeable future,” he said.

Lamell McMorris Named NDAC Chair of the American Red Cross

Special to the NNPA from The Washington Informer

Lamell McMorris (Courtesy Photo)

On May 9 human rights activist and public affairs expert Lamell McMorris was appointed Chairman of the National Diversity Advisory Council (NDAC) of the American Red Cross.

Recommended by NDAC Sr. Vice President Floyd W. Pitts, McMoriss was selected for a one-year term.

McMorris is founder and CEO of Perennial Strategy Group, an advisory firm providing government relations and public affairs services to Fortune 500 companies, national non-profits, trade associations, and public-sector clients on a wide range of public-policy issues and corporate matters.

“We are fortunate to have someone of Lamell’s caliber appointed as our new Council Chairperson because he brings to our efforts substantial expertise in working with non-profits and a history of forward thinking,” said Pitts.

McMorris, enthusiastic about his new role said, “My task is to serve as a bridge, to help Pitts in his efforts to connect principles of diversity and inclusion to the mission and business objectives of the American Red Cross.”

by Mel and Pearl Shaw
Special to the NNPA from Our Weekly

FUNdraising Good Times

Who is more important: you or a group of your fellow nonprofit volunteers or professionals? What signal are you sending when you direct your attention to your mobile device instead of the group’s discussion? If you believe the work of the organization or institution is unimportant, say so and work with your peers to restructure meetings. If not, give your attention to the business at hand. Each of you has carved out time from your busy schedules to attend the meeting. Make the most of it.

For many, time is now considered a resource even more valuable than money. Increasing demands on our time from work, family and volunteer commitments make it all the more important that time allocated for meetings be most productive. As nonprofit professionals are asked to take on more responsibilities, the time dedicated to staff meetings becomes even more valuable. Checking your mobile device removes your attention from the discussion at hand. Your knowledge, expertise and insights are removed from the conversation. The opportunity for synergistic thinking, problem-solving and strategizing diminishes as participants mentally enter and leave the group’s work with a glance at their device.

And then there’s hurt feelings. Some people are offended when they are talking and others are texting or checking email. The sentiment can be, “Why should I bother, if they aren’t interested?” The result can be a process of gradual or immediate disengagement by everyone involved.

Observe your behavior and that of others in the next meeting you attend. How often do people check their devices? What is accomplished in the meeting? Ask reflective questions of yourself and others in the room: are our meetings boring? Too long? Are they structured to take advantage of the best thinking in the room? Are people coming prepared to meetings? When are people checking their devices and does that correlate to the discussion at hand?

Make sure your meetings are worthy of the time you ask each person to give. Develop a protocol for the use of mobile devices. One corporate board asks members to place devices in a basket upon entering the meeting, and provides breaks for the purpose of checking calls and messages. Your nonprofit is as important as a corporate board. Reach agreement regarding the use of devices and hold each other accountable. Remind people of the policy when meetings are being scheduled, and again at the beginning of each meeting.

You can use mobile devices to help advance the organizations you are involved with. Engaging and updating friends, colleagues, donors and supporters via Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest or Instragram increases the organization’s social media presence and reach. The same with calling and emailing to set appointments and provide updates. Mobile devices bring us together. Don’t let them drive us apart.

Mel and Pearl Shaw are the authors of “Prerequisites for Fundraising Success.” They position nonprofits for fundraising success. Visit them at www.saadandshaw.com.